Lady War Eagles knocked out in first round
West Carroll High School hosted first-round games in the Region 6A Basketball Tournament on Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night didn’t go too well for the Lady War Eagles, who ended their season with a 68-38 loss to McEwen, but the War Eagles earned an advance ticket on Saturday with a 87-78 win over the Big Sandy Red Devils.
Now 20-3 on the season, the War Eagles were set to host Houston County (11-14) Tuesday night in the region semifinals, though results from that game were not available as of press time. A win over Houston County would propel the War Eagles to the championship round on Thursday at 7 p.m. at WCHS. It would also guarantee them a spot in a sub-state game on Monday, March 7, at 7 p.m., though whether or not they get to host that game depends on if they win the region title.
The Lady War Eagles conclude the 2021-22 season with a winning 13-12 overall record and undefeated status in district competition.
On Saturday night, the War Eagles led Big Sandy 26-17 at the end of the first quarter, 44-35 at the half, 57-44 at the end of the third period, and then outscored the Red Devils 13-9 down the final stretch.
All five of West Carroll’s starters broke double digits with Jalen Anglin leading the pack with 24 points, followed by Xander Moon with 17, JaQuan Adkins and Josh Clark with 15 apiece, and Andrew Huff with 14. J.D. Pigue also added two.
Cole Pierpoint was out front for Big Sandy with 18 points, followed by Caden Hall and Seth Green with 13 apiece, Blake Sims with 12, Mikey Rushing with 11, and Thane Terry with nine.
On Friday night, McEwen was leading the Lady War Eagles 19-9 at the end of the first quarter, but West Carroll rallied to outscore McEwen 17-8 in the second period, cutting McEwen’s lead to just one point, 27-26, at the half.
But McEwen completely dominated in the third quarter, outperforming West Carroll 28-1 boosting their advantage to 55-27 by the end of the third. The Lady War Eagles broke out of their scoring doldrum in the fourth quarter, putting up 11 points, but McEwen still got the better of them with 13 in the fourth.
Mia Jones led West Carroll with 14 points, followed by Amaya Thompson with eight and Erin Norman with seven. Kaylee Butler, Octavia Jones, and Aniya Metcalf all contributed three points apiece for the Lady War Eagles.
Kellie Jo Hankins was McEwen’s and the game’s top scorer with 19 points.
HANDLING IT – West Carroll’s Jayden Rader handles the ball during the Lady War Eagles season-ending loss to McEwen.
